History of Klarna in Timeline

Klarna is a Swedish-founded fintech company and digital bank providing online financial services to consumers and merchants globally. Known for its "buy now, pay later" service, Klarna has broadened its offerings to include interest-free payments, digital banking, and retail marketing solutions. With 114 million consumers and partnerships with 850,000 merchants, Klarna is a significant player in the e-commerce industry, with 4 million debit and credit card clients as of 2025. The company is domiciled in London and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

2005: Klarna founded in Sweden

In 2005, Klarna was founded in Sweden as a fintech company and digital bank.

2005: Klarna Founded by Siemiatkowski, Adalberth, and Jacobsson

In 2005, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobsson founded Klarna after participating in the Stockholm School of Economics entrepreneurship competition.

2007: Investment AB Öresund Invests in Klarna

In 2007, venture capital firm Investment AB Öresund invested in Klarna.

2010: Klarna Expands to Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands

In 2010, Klarna started providing services in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands and also received an investment from Sequoia Capital, increasing its revenue by over 80% to US$54 million.

May 2011: Klarna Acquires Analyzd

In May 2011, Klarna acquired Israeli company Analyzd, which provided risk management and fraud prevention services.

2011: Klarna Listed as One of Europe's Most Promising Tech Companies

In 2011, British newspaper The Telegraph listed Klarna as one of Europe's 100 most promising young tech companies.

2013: Klarna and SOFORT AG Merge to Form Klarna Group

In 2013, Klarna and German SOFORT AG merged to become Klarna Group.

2014: Swedish Consumer Agency Contacts Klarna Over Fees and Debt Collection

In 2014, The Swedish Consumer Agency contacted Klarna, following complaints that customers had received fees and debt collection communication without receiving an invoice, speculated to be an unethical business model.

2015: Niklas Adalberth on Delinquent Consumers

Before leaving the company in 2015, Niklas Adalberth referred to delinquent consumers as "the best customers" as they could add legal fees and other revenue streams.

2015: Klarna Launches in the United States

In 2015, Klarna launched in the United States. Minister of Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg dubbed Klarna one of Sweden's "five unicorns".

2018: Klarna Acquires Close Brothers Retail Finance

In 2018, Klarna acquired Close Brothers Retail Finance from the UK Close Brothers Group.

May 2019: CEO Summoned to Swedish Ministry of Finance Over Identity Theft Issues

CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski was summoned to the Swedish Ministry of Finance in May 2019 to answer questions about Klarna's management of identity theft and the debts of customers.

2019: Klarna Raises $460 Million for US Expansion

In 2019, Klarna raised $460 million to expand its operations in the US, valuing the company at $5.5 billion and making it the largest fintech start-up in Europe.

February 2020: Report on Klarna's Autofill Feature Allowing Data Extraction

In February 2020, Der Spiegel reported that Klarna's autofill feature allowed anyone to extract personal information, such as phone number, postal address and date of birth, only based on the email address and postal code of a customer.

October 2020: Klarna Mistakenly Sends Marketing Email, Triggering Investigation

In October 2020, Klarna mistakenly sent a marketing email to people who had never disclosed their contact information to Klarna, triggering an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK.

2020: Klarna Supports Industry Regulation

According to an interview in the Financial Times, Klarna had supported industry regulation since 2020 to ensure a "safe and accessible" market.

2020: Ant Financial Invests in Klarna

In 2020, Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba, invested in Klarna as part of a partnership between the two firms.

2020: Klarna Acquires Nuji

In 2020, Klarna acquired Nuji, a marketplace for fashion and lifestyle goods.

February 2021: UK Government Announces Regulation of Post-Payment Sector

In February 2021, the UK Government announced that the post-payment sector, in which Klarna operates, would be subject to regulation from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

May 2021: Klarna User Data Exposure Incident

For a brief period in May 2021, users could view the information of other users using their own login information. Klarna claims that user information was exposed randomly, and that these exposures only contained non-sensitive data.

June 2021: Klarna Raises $639 Million, Valuation Reaches $45.6 Billion

In June 2021, Klarna raised $639 million in a fundraising round led by SoftBank Group's Vision Fund 2, increasing the company's valuation to $45.6 billion.

July 2021: Klarna Acquires Stocard

In July 2021, Klarna acquired Stocard, an app for storing loyalty cards.

November 2021: Klarna Launches Physical Card

In November 2021, Klarna launched its physical card, enabling users to make purchases in interest-free installments.

2021: Klarna Valuation Drop from Peak in 2021

Klarna's valuation dropped from a peak of $45.6 billion in 2021 as online spending slowed post-pandemic.

January 2022: Klarna Launches Physical Card in the UK

In January 2022, Klarna launched its physical card in the UK, which had a wait list of 400,000 users as of January 2022.

March 2022: Klarna Acquires PriceRunner

In March 2022, Klarna acquired PriceRunner, a company that provides price comparisons on products.

March 2022: Klarna Fined by Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection

In March 2022, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten) fined Klarna 7.5 million kr for inadequacies in its privacy notice and handling of personal data.

May 2022: Klarna Lays Off 10% of Workforce

In May 2022, Klarna laid off roughly 10% of its workforce.

May 2022: Siemiatkowski Announces Layoffs and Receives Criticism

In May 2022, Siemiatkowski revealed it would be laying off more than 10% of its employees. When Siemiatkowski posted a list of the fired employees on LinkedIn, several users described his post as "tone deaf".

June 2022: Klarna Partners with Marqeta to Bring Visa Cards to the US

In June 2022, Klarna announced a partnership deal with card issuer Marqeta to bring physical Visa cards to the US.

July 2022: Klarna Raises $800 Million in Funding Amid Valuation Drop

In July 2022, Klarna raised $800 million in funding at a valuation of $6.7 billion, which represented an 85% drop in valuation in one year. The company lost $580 million between January and July 2022.

September 2022: Klarna Announces Additional Layoffs and Offers Savings Accounts in Spain

In September 2022, Klarna announced plans to lay off an additional 100 employees after budget revisions due to its drop in valuation and announced losses. Since September 2022, Klarna offers savings accounts and deposits to Spanish customers through Raisin Bank.

October 2022: Klarna Launches "Klarna Creator" Application

In October 2022, Klarna launched a new "Klarna Creator" application for retailers and influencers to collaborate on brand campaigns and track their earnings.

2022: Klarna Claims Fraud Checks are as Strict as Banks

In 2022, Klarna said that its fraud checks and controls are as strict as those of banks.

2022: German Court Rules Against Klarna's Reminder Fees

In 2022, the District Court of Bremerhaven in Germany ruled that Klarna could not demand a flat rate of €1.20 for an email reminder because Klarna had not submitted any corresponding costs.

January 2024: Klarna Announces Monthly Subscription Plan

In January 2024, Klarna announced a plan for a monthly subscription plan called Klarna Plus, which would include benefits like double reward points, discounts from partners like Nike and Instacart, and waived service fees when using the Klarna One Time Card for $7.99 each month.

February 2024: Klarna Announces New AI Assistant

In February 2024, Klarna announced that its new AI assistant could handle the equivalent capacity of up to 700 customer service roles.

November 2024: Klarna Files for US IPO

In November 2024, Klarna filed for an initial public offering in the US.

December 2024: Siemiatkowski Comments on AI's Impact on Hiring

In December 2024, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski commented on how AI affected his company's hiring policies, stating that the company did not recruit last year because "AI can do all of the jobs that we humans do. It's just a question of how we apply it and use it".

2024: Klarna's User Base in 2024

By the end of 2024, Klarna had 93 million users in 26 countries.

February 2025: Klarna's Valuation Estimated at $15 Billion

In February 2025, Klarna's valuation was estimated at $15 billion.

March 2025: Klarna Files IPO Prospectus

In March 2025, Klarna filed its IPO prospectus with plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol KLAR.

April 2025: Klarna Pauses U.S. IPO Plans

In April 2025, Klarna paused its plans for a U.S. IPO due to market instability caused by President Trump's new tariff policies.

April 2025: Klarna Delays IPO Filing

In April 2025, Klarna planned to file its initial public offering (IPO) but delayed it due to market volatility amid tariff uncertainties under the Trump administration.

May 2025: Klarna Resumes Hiring After Over-Reliance on AI Led to Lower Quality

In May 2025, the Klarna CEO told Bloomberg the company was hiring humans again as over-reliance on AI approach led to "lower quality".

June 2025: Klarna Announces Debit Card Program Pilot in the US

In June 2025, Klarna announced it would pilot a debit card program in the US market, ahead of a full release in Europe. The Klarna Card will allow users to access FDIC-insured funds and Klarna's pay later services.

July 2025: Klarna Partners with Poshmark

In July 2025, Klarna announced a partnership with the fashion resale marketplace Poshmark.

September 2025: Klarna Reports Loss in First Quarterly Earning After IPO

After Klarna underwent its initial public offering in September 2025, the company reported a loss in its first quarterly earning amid a diversification of its services.

September 2025: Klarna Launches IPO and Raises $1.37 Billion

In September 2025, Klarna launched its IPO and raised $1.37 billion.

September 2025: Klarna Relaunches US IPO

In September 2025, Klarna relaunched its US initial public offering (IPO) which was priced at $40 a share and raised $1.37 billion. At the close of the first day of trading, its valuation was over $17 billion.

November 2025: Klarna Releases KlarnaUSD Stablecoin

In November 2025, Klarna released the KlarnaUSD stablecoin, which was intended to reduce costs when making international payments, cutting out entities like the SWIFT network.